The field of the present invention is four wheel, off road vehicles.
Off road recreational vehicles commonly referred to as dune buggies have typically employed a frame structure, four wheels, one or two seats and a rear mounted engine. Such vehicles are found both with and without a body on the frame or with separate panels attached to the frame at strategic positions. Traditionally, the engines have been air cooled and are mounted directly over or even slightly behind the rear wheels. Such vehicles are typically rear wheel drive. Either one or two seater configurations typically have the seats placed forwardly of the engine in some form of structural frame to provide for protection during vehicle rollovers. Because of the contemplated use, dune buggy designs have typically attempted to provide some protection for the vehicle components from obstacles for which there may be insufficient ground clearance and from airborne mud, rocks and foliage.
Air cooling for engines in many vehicle designs have been replaced by water cooling systems. Water cooling offers a variety of advantages over air cooled designs, but also has certain disadvantages. Water cooling systems require the addition of a radiator. Radiators require relatively unrestricted air flow thereto and also are prone to being damaged or clogged. Thus, in designing off road recreational vehicles having water cooled engines, particular attention must be directed to location and protection of the water cooling system.
Attention must also be directed to protection of the air intake to the engine. In this instance it is not the air intake itself which is likely to be damaged but the likelihood of drawing damaging materials into the engine through the air intake. Typical solutions have resulted in the employment of air ducts running from air filters mounted high on the vehicle frame, often the portion of the frame associated with the cockpit or roll cage, to the engine.